Pakistan fights against Taliban terrorism
Philip Reiser, Staff Writer
photo: Sarah Powell
Pakistan is under siege by the Taliban. In the last few weeks, there have been four major attacks carried out by Taliban militants in different cities in Pakistan that have killed at least 150 people and left hundreds injured.
Pakistan has long been considered a missing link for the U.S. in the war against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Taliban leaders and fighters escaped into the Pakistani highlands on the border early on and regained strengths there, unbothered by the Pakistani government, which long denied their presence.
The groups have had an influence on operations in Pakistan for decades under the name of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella terrorist group.
Pakistani officials said the TTP has been behind 80 percent of terrorist attacks in the country over the last few years, including the assassination of presidential candidate Benazir Bhutto in 2007 and the recent spate of violence.
Pakistan is conscious of the danger that the Taliban and Al Qaeda pose to its national security, but has been held back from action by internal instability and political turmoil.
The first offensive against a terrorist stronghold was executed earlier this year in the Swat Valley, yet it became clear that the insurgent problem had deeper roots and would require further military action.
This past week, another offensive was launched in the South Waziristan region, which is considered the center of operations for the TTP.
The area suffered heavy bombardments prior to the ground offensive, meant to weaken militant fortifications in the mountainous region. 28,000 Pakistani soldiers have been deployed to the area in order to trap the approximated 10,000 militants by sealing all exit points.
Pakistani security forces have ruled out the option of a peace agreement.
The struggle will continue until the presence of militants in the area has been completely eliminated. This will prove to be an extremely complicated task, for the mountainous region provides endless hideouts and opportunities for ambush. So far, the resistance has been fierce. There are already numerous casualties on both sides, with the exact numbers still unclear.
On the verge of the attack, the top U.S. military commander for the Middle East, Gen. David Petraeus, and Senator John Kerry, head of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, traveled to Pakistan in order to share intelligence and ratify the U.S. support for the military action.
The details of their visits remained secret, for the Pakistani government does not want the strategy to be seen as a move to please the U.S.
This could spark internal revolt since anti-American sentiment is still extremely high among the Pakistani population. This is also why the Pakistani military command has declined several U.S. offers to provide help on the battlefield. It is shielding its image and wants to be seen as acting independently from the U.S. forces to defend its own national sovereignty.
There have been rumors about the U.S. providing financial support to the Pakistani military to combat the Taliban in its own territory, yet no official information about such a transaction has been provided.
Naturally, the Pakistani government denies this fact, as accepting funds from the U.S. would damage its image in the region.
One thing has become certain as the situation in the Middle East progresses. Though conflicts seemed to be traditionally limited to Afghanistan and Iraq, the focus has recently shifted towards Pakistan’s struggles against the Taliban and Iran’s dangerous nuclear ambition.
These challenges are becoming central to the agenda and, added on to the inherited conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, they will provide a tough challenge in the coming years.
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